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Market for Change: Promoting Responsible Outsourcing
I just ran across one great idea (and a great video that explais it), via NextBillion ally Emeka Okafor and his great blog Timbuktu Chronicles. Market for Change was founded in 2007 “to catalyze sustainable economic development and poverty alleviation by creating a thriving, active...
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MicroEnergy Credits Corporation: Catalyzing Clean Energy for the BoP
It is impossible to argue against the need for reliable energy at the BoP. Energy drives every facet of society, from nourishment to communication. According to the UNDP, at least 1.2 billion people suffer from energy poverty, which has profound impact on health, education, and livelihoods. ...
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- Energy
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First Energy, then Food… is Water Next? A News Roundup
Today’s New York Times front page features, once again, the pressing crisis that has risen from soaring food prices around the world. The debate has found its way to institutions like the UN and the World Bank, who have called for urgent measures to keep the world’s poorest from...
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The Commercialization of Microfinance: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Today in New York, I had the pleasure of attending a round table organized by the Council on Foreign Relations entitled The Commercialization of Microfinance: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Moderated by CFR Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman, the discussion featured comments from Mary Ellen...
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Guest Post: Glory and Riches? Unraveling Microfinance’s Allure among Young Job-Seekers
Guest blogger Lauren Withey is a research assistant for the World Resources Report at the World Resources Institute, in Washington D.C. By Lauren Withey It used to be that most U.S. college graduates, perhaps after spending a few years testing their penchants for various occupations or...
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Entrepreneurship@Cornell: Big, Red and Innovative
What’s big, red and innovative all over?? No, it’s not Clifford’s supremely creative cousin ? it’s Entrepreneurship@Cornell.? A university-wide initiative, Entrepreneurship@Cornell is unique in bringing together students, faculty, alumni and outside experts across a range of...
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Taking a BoP Venture to Scale, Part 2
In my last post, I put forth a definition on scaling a BoP venture: increasing business transactions that positively affect the lives of the poor. In this post I’d like to address the importance of scaling a BoP venture. Apoovra Shah recently brought up the issue of BoP ventures...
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NYT Magazine Asks: Can Cellphones Alleviate Poverty?
All of us at NextBillion.net were both humbled and thrilled to see the New York Times Sunday Magazine draw on our work - and the work of many colleagues - to write an extended piece on the impact of cell phone usage in emerging economies. Sara Corbett’s article follows Nokia researcher...
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